The Charmed Effect
by Mike1
Summary: Find out what happens when the Charmed Ones find themselves caught up in Evan's 'meddling' with the universe. Phoebe seems to be the only one who knows things are changing, but can they stop Evan before it gets worse?
1. Helping the demon

TITLE: The Charmed Effect

AUTHOR: Mike

FANDOM: Charmed/Butterfly Effect (briefly Angel)

RATING: R

EMAIL ADDRESS FOR FEEDBACK: Charmed belongs to Warner Brothers and Aaron Spelling.  
The Butterfly Effect belongs to J. Mackye Gruber, Eric Bress, and Infinifilm. Angel is owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Warner Brothers. I've received no money for this story.

WARNINGS: Profanity, violence, mature themes

SUMMARY: Find out what happens when the Charmed Ones find themselves caught up in Evan's 'meddling' with the universe. Phoebe seems to be the only one who knows things are changing, but can they stop Evan before it gets worse?

TIMELINE: Charmed-- Season 4, before Cole becomes fully human.  
Butterfly Effect-- during the movie. This is also an AU category,  
since the universe keeps changing. For the purposes of this story,  
Evan and his friends grew up in California.

NOTES: The universal cosmos gets punk'd.

San Francisco, present day. Night time. Evan Treborn is at his college dorm, reading through one of his journals. It was the one from 'Age 13'. He read to himself, "'I seemed more concerned with the idea of her hands on mine..'" As he kept reading, ther words seemed to jump off the page, his surroundings blurred..

Even found himself back near the woods. He was thirteen again, his hands over Kayleigh's ears. The cigarette dropped on his shirt, but he was too shocked to notice. It was like he was IN this memory.  
Lenny and Tommy were next to them, watching the house-shaped mailbox.

Tommy said darkly to Lenny, "One peep, and it'll be your last,  
motherfucker."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the kids, a black sports car was parked at the end of the street. The man was sitting there, in his business suit. He appeared to be a lawyer. He was watching the mailbox, the home.. actually, he was waiting for the woman to come home. He would not fail. But then, Belthazor rarely rarely failed, if ever.

The Source had sent him on a mission. It was a threefold task: take the witch's enchanted ring so it could be destroyed, kill the witch, then take the baby to The Source so it could be raised by demons. The child would be corrupted, educated with evil; it would use their witch powers for evil.

The woman pulled up in her driveway, carrying a baby and the bag of groceries. She was wearing a ring with a Celtic design on her finger.  
She was talking happily to her newborn baby, walking over to the mailbox.

Evan, hiding with the others, watched in sudden horror. This was not supposed to happen! The other three were held in place as well.  
Suddenly, he felt his skin burn. As he checked it, the woman opened her mailbox..

BOOM! There was a flash, an explosion, the mother and child was on the ground. The baby.. well, there wasn't much left. It was sure to be a tragedy that the townspeople would remember for years.

The four juveniles took off running.. as they did so, Evan appeared to come out of his trance, acting normal.. oblivious to the fact that the spirit of his older self was just inside him.

Cole gasped in surprise, watching from his car. "Dammit.. well, there goes that plan. Hmm.. maybe I can at least get the ring." as he heard sirens in the distance, he got out of the car. He began to walk towards the scene.

About a half hour later, the paramedics were taking the woman in the ambulance. Evan was listening to his mother ask him about the incident, but he didn't know anything. Another blackout.

Tommy was trying to convince them that they knew nothing, that they were passing through. Then he said something like, "We really don't know the source of the blast, it just happened so fast-"

"Excuse me, but did someone say 'source'?" It was Cole, who was standing off to the side, with a hand behind his back. an athame dagger appeared in the hidden hand.

The two boys looked up at him. Tommy just shrugged, "The source of the blast. Why, how would it be your business?"

Cole nodded in relief, making the dagger vanish. "Oh, no reason. I'm a lawyer.. Cole Turner, from Wolfram and Hart."

Evan's mother looked at him. "Well, Mr. Turner, I'm afraid you can't do anything much here. The woman's.. child is.. dead." She pointed at the ambulance, which was now driving away.

"Oh. Then, I should be going." Cole started walking away. It would appear that the boys did him a favor, taking out the line of this coven he was stalking. The baby was the last. and now, he would just have to eliminate the woman. Probably her husband, too.

The next week, the woman was heading to the local cinema. Probably to try to forget the awful tragedy. She was a witch, she was supposed to protect her family! Instead, her only child was killed by a fatal prank gone too far. As she went into the theatre, she was oblivious to the man who followed her into the building. She decided to go frshen up in the restroom before buying a ticket. As she went in,  
cole stood outside the door for a couple minutes. This had to be done right. No kids would mess up his plans this time. There could be no witnesses. He needed a distraction, something to keep the security away while the woman screamed.

And as luck would have it, there was an adequate distraction. It seemed as if the boy Tommy was in the middle of beating the crap out of another customer. This was perfect.

Cole smirked to himself, then made his way into the ladies' bathroom while the security was handling the boy.

The woman was splashing water on her face, when she saw Cole enter. "Hey! This is the ladies' bathroom-"

"No games, witch." Cole went over, then reached for her hand. As he touched the ring, he was sent flying against the wall. He got up,  
angry at the complication. He morphed into his demon self known as Belthazor. Red skin with tribal markings, black suit.. taller,  
stronger. He laughed evilly as he walked back to the witch.

The witch screamed, holding her hands up. "You.. you're a demon.. I can't let you-"

Belthazor touched the hand again, with little resistance this time.  
He easily pulled the ring off her finger and put it in his pocket.  
After making his dagger appear, he let out an evil laugh before plunging it into her.

Just then, another woman entered the bathroom, then stared open-mouth at the backside of the big, red monster. Then she saw the dead woman on the tiled floor.

Belthazor made an energy ball in his hand then tossed it at the intruder, causing her to burst into flames. Then he threw a second ball at his victim.

Both woman were on fire for a few seconds, then vaporized. All that was left were two scorch marks in this room. He realized that he had to leave right now, otherwise some cops might come in, especially,  
since there was screaming in here. He could vanquish everyone, but that would probably expose demonic magic.. couldn't risk that. So he shimmered out, leaving the bathroom empty. It was a good thing too,  
since one of the guards was just coming in to check it out..

Andrea Trebor was at home, watching the TV set. It seemed to be a special news report.

The anchor was speaking. "As of now, the Noonday Stalker is still at large. Citizens are urged to keep they're homes locked while out on business. Now.. in other news, there was a small fire at the women's restroom at Cineplex. Authorities are baffled at the cause, as well as why the fire did not spread throught the rest of the bathroom. Two patrons were seen going in, but have not come out.. police are currently investigating this mystery."

Just then, the phone rang. "Yes? Cineplex, yes.. what?" She was told that one of Evan's friends assaulted somebody.. she didn't have to guess which friend that was. "Alright.. sure, I'll come by to pick them up." 


	2. Departed Sister

Piper pulled into the parking lot with her SUV, her sister Phoebe was in the passenger seat.

Phoebe pointed at the automotive shop. "There, that's it. I just hope it hasn't closed yet. It's almost ten." She opened her door to get out. "Otherwise, I'll have to get Cole to shimmer me here in the morning.. and you know how he's worried about being in public now,  
especially with demon bounty hunters after him."

Piper nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just hope that if we vanquish The Source, that it'll all be over. But Leo said no other witch has been able to, not even if they had the Power of Three. I mean, for goodness sakes, it's the source of all EVIL!"

Phoebe said, "Well.. I might actually have a plan about that. I've been trying to come up with a vanquishing spell that involves the magic of the entire Halliwell line." She looked at her watch. "I gotta go!" She turned around, rushing for the doors.

"Ok, I'll just wait here, then." Piper leaned back in her seat.

Phoebe went inside the shop, approaching the front desk. "Umm.. hi.  
I'm Phoebe, Phoebe Halliwell. I brought my car in for a check-up earlier?"

The young blond man at the counter nodded. His ID tag read, 'Tommy M.' "Right. Oil filter had to be changed. I'd have a talk with the guy who sold it to you, if I were you."

"Oh, believe me, I'm going to do that as soon as I leave here. My boyfriend happens to be a lawyer, so I'm not too worried." She opened her wallet up, which showed a photo of her and Cole together. She turned it to the back, taking out a wad of bills.

Tommy looked a little surprised, but didn't show it. "Hey, is that your husband? He looks like.. someone I met before.. named Cole or something."

"Cole Turner?" Phoebe smiled. "Actually, he's my fiance. Did you know him?" Small world. She didn't think her half-demon boyfriend ran into too many mechanics.

Tommy shrugged, taking the money and giving her change. "Umm.. not sure. He can't be your Cole, the one I met was back when I was a kid,  
on the outskirts of town. He'd be a lot older."

Phoebe was half tempted to mutter something about how demons don't age very much, but thought better of it. "Yeah, you're probably right. So.. my car is ready for pick-up?"

"Sure, around back." He nodded, then the phone rang. "Hello? Ohh.  
hi, Kay. What? slow down, what's wrong.. what!"

"Ok, err.." Phoebe didn't want to get in the middle of a sibling dispute. Besides, she had to go get her car. "Ok, thanks.. I'll just,  
umm.. go get that.." She made her way for the door.

"Evan.. what! WHEN did he see you, what did you talk about? Hey,  
don't get hysterical, just tell me-- no, wait! I'll-" But the other line hung up the phone. "Shit!" He had to get home before his sister did something drastic. He swore, if Evan did something.. he'd be dead!

Phoebe was in her car now, driving it out into the parking lot. She waved to Piper, motioning for her to head for the manor.

Piper and Phoebe just came into the house after driving for an hour.

Paige suddenly orbed in, landing on her rear. "Oof! Darn it.. still got to get the hang of that."

Piper smiled, obviously impressed. "Paige? You're orbing at will now?  
That's very good."

Leo added, "Very impressive.. looks like your powers are improving."

Paige agreed, "Yeah, but the landing needs work. I'm trying to orb naturally, instead of relying on fear reactions. But hey, at least I'm improving." She looked at Phoebe. "So, got your car back?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, the mechanic changed the oil. But something is.. weird about him."

Cole shimmered in, standing next to Phoebe. "Does he have horns?"

Phoebe shook her head. "No.. but he seemed to recognize your picture.  
He said he met you before. I think his name is.. Tommy. He just got a call from his sister Kay."

Cole said, "I did meet him. This was.. back in my bad days, when I was evil. He was some kid who liked pranks.. something was dark about him, too." He sighed at that part. He didn't like to think about his past too much.

Phoebe patted him affectionately on the shoulder. "Hey.. that's not you anymore, Cole. I know you're different now."

"Tommy.. and Kay." Leo pondered this, it sounded familiar. "Kayleigh Miller? if that's Tommy's sister.. then.." he said to Phoebe, "Was there something wrong when she called him?"

"Yeah." Phoebe paused. "Something really pissed Tommy off, especially when the name 'Evan' came up."

Leo nodded, his memory was refreshed now. "She had a troubled past.  
I.. think she's supposed to-" Then he heard a jingle, so he looked upwards. "They're calling me.. sounds bad. I'll try to hurry." He orbed out, going back up to the Elders.

Piper walked into the living room. "I hope it's not to serious.  
Knowing 'them', it'll be quick.. like, say.. five hours?" As if in response, lightning flashed in the sky. "I'm kidding!"

Paige went to join Piper. "I think I'm going to try orbing again. It wasn't too good, I only did it from the attic. I'm thinking about trying it from a farther distance."

Phoebe looked at Cole, concerned. She knew about his past, knew that sometimes it still troubled him. A lot of evil had been done in a century. She hoped that with him being good now, he his good deeds could one day outweigh all the bad he had done.. but judging how long Belthazor had been around, that wasn't likely.

Just then, Leo orbed back in. He didn't look too happy. "Bad news,  
guys.. Kayleigh was supposed to become a whitelighter. I was supposed to train her as another one of my charges.. the Elders believed she would have done a lot of good in her life. She committed suicide tonight. Unfortunately, that negates any possibility of her becoming a whitelighter."

"What?" Piper walked out of the living room, coming over to Leo. "Ohh.. I'm so sorry." She knew how Leo cared for his charges,  
how he felt about them. She hoped he would be alright.

Phoebe said, "Tommy seemed a bit pissed, from how I heard him talking.. Kayleigh was upset about something.. oh yeah, and he kept threatening to do something to Evan. Something about whatever Evan spoke to his sister about."

Leo nodded. "That's right. Kay's father was a very sick man when she was younger. It's not the sort of thing someone can get over."

Paige walked over, curious. "Wait.. did you say Tommy? Kayleigh.  
Evan.." Then her eyes seemed to light up, as if she rembered something she had forgotten some time ago. "That's it! I remember them now, I went to school with them. They had another friend I think.. some heavy kid named.. Lenny. Yeah, that's it."

Piper said, "You knew them? What were they like?"

Paige shook her head. "No, I didn't know the kids personally. I was just in a few of the same classes that they were in. I heard that Evan used to have these blackouts back then.. it seemed like he'd lose track of time. And Tommy.. well, he had a reputation for losing his temper."

Phoebe replied, "Oh, yeah. I could see that."

Leo added, "Well, I'm going to the funeral tomorrow morning. I feel like I owe her that much. You can all come if you want to."

The sisters nodded. Phoebe spoke up, "Yeah, I'm definitely going. I feel like I just need to express my condolences."

Cole said, "I'll come with you, Pheebs, for support. Besides, I'll have a chance to see the kids again, all grown up.. hadn't seen them since the mailbox incident." He shrugged. "Sorry.. long story."

The next day, everyone in the Miller family was at the funeral, even some of the family's friends. Leo, Cole, and the Charmed Ones stood behind the people, so they wouldn't draw too much attention.

Evan stood farther away, near the trees. He was holding a flower in his hand, watching the service go on. He noticed a few people he didn't know, but one looked eerily familiar.. like the lawyer he had seen at the time of the dynamite accident years ago.

When the service had ended, the family members had started to leave.  
Tommy then turned to go, when he saw the woman from his shop yesterday.. then he saw Cole standing next to her. "Phoebe.. what are you doing here?" Then he glanced at Cole. "And you. Why are you here! Wait.. are you that same lawyer I met when I was 13.. but.  
that can't be-"

Cole shrugged. "Hmm, maybe I am." Then he felt a nudge from Phoebe,  
indicating for him to behave. "Actually, that was my father. People are always saying that I look just like him."

Leo remained silent. He didn't know how he could help. Things happen for a reason, your sister is in a safe place, your dad can't abuse her anymore, etc.. none of that seemed helpful.

Phoebe said, "Look.. I'm just her because.. I want to express my condolences. I know what it's like to lose a sister, especially when it wasn't her time. Prue was everything to us. It still hurts, and I don't know if we ever get over something like that."

Tommy breathed heavily, anger in his eyes. "Did you GET the one who caused it?"

Paige replied, "Yes, actually.. took all three of us."

Tommy stared at her. "Pretty tough motherfucker, huh? And who are you, lady?"

She had her mouth open in shock. This was a hard time, but that didn't mean the guy had to be rude to her. "Paige Matthews.. you probably don't remember me now, because I don't have braces or long dark hair. And yeah, Shax was a big guy."

Tommy paused, then shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, right.. I remember you, chick. Whatever. I'd love to chat about old times, but you see,  
my sister just DIED! Excuse me." He turned to go, accidentally brushing against Phoebe's arm.

Phoebe felt a jolt, her eyes closed quickly in reaction. She saw a little boy at the top of the stairs, twisting a doll's head off, a man down below in the basement, a boy and a girl looking in front of the video camera.. She opened her eyes, looking at Tommy. "Look.. I don't mean to pry, but.. did your father do something bad when you were kids? There was a doll, you broke it at the top of the stairway,  
above a basement-"

"What!" Tommy stopped in his tracks, staring at Phoebe as if she were insane. But how the Hell did she know that stuff? "I don't know who you are, but stay away from me! Crazy chicks." He shook his head,  
running off.

Paige whispered, "Could I please orb a glove to smack him with?"

Piper chuckled, "No.. though it's understandable."

Cole added, "He's lucky I didn't toss an energy ball at him."

Phoebe said, "I do understand how he feels, though. Even though he was rude to us. Maybe.. ohh, I just got an idea! We can use the ghost-  
summoning spell. remember when we called Angela's spirit for the jury? We also called on Grams quite a few times. We could summon Kayleigh, to see if she can tell us anything."

Leo nodded. "That's a good idea. I think I'm ready to go." He started walking.

Cole and the other two girls follwed behind him.

Evan walked past them, going to the lowered coffin in the ground. He held a piece of paper in his hand.

Phoebe looked at his backside. "Umm.. Piper, freeze him. Just trust me."

"Ok.." Piper pointed her hand at the young man, then he seemed stuck in place, not moving.

Phoebe ran over to him, then motioned for Piper to follow. "Alright,  
let's see what you have here.." She looked at the note Evan was holding, which read "I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU."

Piper saw it as well. "Oh. I guess he and Kayleigh.. they must have been great frinds.. maybe more." She sighed, knowing how she would feel if she ever lost Leo. It sure came close to that a few times.

"That paper looks old." Phoebe touched the note to feel it, then felt another jolt. She saw young Evan being driven away in a van, holding the same note up to his window, then a blond girl seeing it.. she seemed sad. Then, Phoebe's eyes opened. "Oh my God. Umm.. he loved her. come on, we better get out of here." She started back to where her sisters were going.

Piper then went back as well, waving a hand at Evan as she left.

Evan didn't notice the loss of time. He tossed the flower down on the coffin. "I'm sorry.. I'll make it better.. I promise. I won't lose you again." He let go of the paper, watching it fall down next to the flower. He wiped the tears from his eye, then turned around to leave..

It was evening now. The sisters were upstairs in their attic. Cole had gone to check some leads in the Underworld, and Leo had gone 'Up There'. There were six candles arranged in a circular pattern on the floor, all lit up. The incense had been lit.

Phoebe held a piece of paper, now standing between her other two sisters. "Ok, here we go.." They read from the note, all three of them in unison.

"We sisters three call on a spirit,  
sister to mortal Tommy,  
whose father is an enemy,  
we call a lost soul from the previous day,  
we summon the spirit of Kayleigh.

Spirit from the other side,  
hear these words, hear my cry,  
come to me, I summon thee Cross now the great divide."

Then, there was a circle of bright lights inside the circle, which formed together to become a transparent form of Kayleigh Miller. "What the.. how.." She saw three women in front of her. She also noticed a series of candles around. "What kind of voodoo craziness.. who are you people?"

Piper said, "We're witches. More specifically, the Charmed Ones. We need to ask you a few questions."

Paige said, "Yeah, it's about.. why you committed suicide. We're really sorry about what happened. Tommy isn't taking it well, which is normal."

Kayleigh stared at her. "Paige? But how.. so, you're a witch? I didn't know you had sisters."

Paige replied, "Neither did I.. on both counts. Just found out,  
actually. We saw Evan at the funeral today."

Phoebe spoke up, "Yeah.. when I accidentally touched Tommy, I saw something. You and Evan were there in your dad's baement, doing some play about Arthur or Ivanhoe.. or something-"

"Robin Hood," Kayleigh corrected. "And don't go there. That's not a happy topic for me. Evan just had to dig up those old wounds, so don't you start on it too! I told him that it never gets better.  
I'm.. a little happier now, but I wish I wasn't stupid enough to kill myself. I've been told that I could have been a lighter-something."

Piper said, "Whitelighter. My husband Leo is one. They're like guardian angels, they guide and heal wounds, help others on their path.. usually witches. Since they died already, only a special arrow can kill them.. but before they die in life, they do alot of great things, like you could have done. Leo says you could have helped a lot of people."

Kayleigh crossed her arms. "But I did die. So.. what's the problem?"

Paige said, "You killed yourself.. see, there's these guys up in the clouds called Elders, who make all these rules. This is one of them.  
Suicide cancels any plans of whitelighter status."

Phoebe said to the spirit, "We just want to know what happened with Evan last night. I think Tommy is going after him soon, I think he might.. kill him."

Kayleigh gasped. "Oh no.. please, not that. I resented him for not returning like he promised.. but I don't want him to die.. it's just that he.. fine! I'll tell you. My father was a sick bastard. The basement was my Hell. What he did to me.. ohh, you don't want to know! Believe that. He stopped at some point, but the memory was always there. I'm just glad I don't have to see him anymore."

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have gone through that." Piper then asked, "What's the deal with Evan and your brother?"

Kayleigh answered, "Oh, that. Tommy was always jealous. I really liked Evan, but my brother didn't think he was good enough. Might have something to do with Evan's blackouts, plus writing all the time in his journals. I guess my brother thought the guy was crazy. It was really bad after that incident at the movies, then it got much worse at the junkyard. I really hope Tommy doesn't hurt him. Can you tell him a message.. let my brother know that I'm ok now?"

Paige nodded quickly. "Yes, we can do that. I'm also giving serious thought to having a talk with your twisted father. He had NO right,  
he ought to go jump off a.." She tried to compose herself. "Sorry, I work at this social services agency.. something like this always touches a nerve with me. I really despise abusive parents, it's the one thing that gets under my skin, when children are helpless against hurtful people."

"It's alright. By all means, go to him. And if you can.. umm, stop Tommy from doing something stupid." She paused. "Can I go back now?"

"Sure," Phoebe nodded. She put the paper in one of the candle flames,  
letting the note burn away.

Kayleigh then changed back into the swirling lights, finally vanishing back to the spirit world.

Piper said. "Alright.. now we have to stop a jealous brother from killing Evan." she paused to think for a moment, going over some rhyming in her mind. "Okay, I think I got it. Grab hands."

The two sisters grabbed her hands.

Piper spoke out, "Take us to the surving brother of the summoned spirit, take us to Tommy, take us right away.. stop his vengeful path, divert his angry wrath.. so mote it be." Then.. they all orbed out, the spell using Paige's power to take them to Tommy's location.

Evan was up in his college dorm. He grabbed the journal labeled "Age 7", then flipped open the pages. He had to see if this worked. Last time, he had dropped his cigarette on himself in the past.. could he do more this time? Could he convince Mr. Miller to leave his daughter alone? It was worth a try, it was all Evan could do. This was his only chance. "Ok.. where is it.. here.." He took a deep breath,  
preparing to read it out loud.

Meanwhile, outside ther building, Tommy stood at the door. He held a loaded pistol in his coat, as well as a knife in his hand.

Just then, the three witches orbed in front of him, coming together from a swirl of bright blue lights. Paige said with a smirk, "Hello again, Tommy. Surprised to see us again?"

Tommy jumped back in surprise, unprepared for any of this. "What on Earth! How.. what are you!"

Phoebe levitated up in the air, delivering a jump kick to the man's chest, knocking him on his back. "Witches. Three very powerful, ass-  
kicking witches. See, we just talked to your sister. Her ghost,  
actually.. she doesn't want this. Oh, and.. she said she's ok, so you don't have to worry anymore."

Tommy got up, holding himself. "Psycho.. you are all psycho!" He threw his knife, sending it flying right for Piper.

Piper pointed at it quickly, freezing it in mid-air. Then she pointed again, causing it to blow up in a ball of flame. "You're next, if you don't stop this. We don't want to hurt you. Kayleigh doesn't want you to hurt anyone, either. And as for your father.. we're planning to go have a word with him after this, after you come to your senses and let Evan live in peace."

"You.. you people." He shook his head, drewing his gun. "You're so full of shit. I didn't want to kill a bitch tonight, but I guess I'll have to! Evan will be next."

Paige shook her head, holding her hand out. "Fine, have it your way... gun!"

Tommy smirked. "I know it's a gun, idiot--hey!" He was surprised to see the gun vanish in a flash of blue orbs, the lights going over to Paige. He stared in mute shock as his weapon materialized in the girl's hand.

"Ok, that's enough from you." Piper put her hand up, freezing the man in place. Her patience could only go so far. They could be out vanquishing a demon by now, or preparing for The Source.. but no,  
they had their hands occupied with some jealous psychopath who didn't get enough hugs growing up. "Phoebe, can you call Darryl now? I'll unfreeze this guy when I see some sirens."

"Sure." Phoebe agreed, taking the cell phone out of her jacket pocket. "It was fun while it lasted." She started dialing the number.  
But for some odd reason, their surroundings shifted, bright lights everywhere. Tommy immediately vanished in a flash, as if he was never here. The gun disappeared from Paige's hand. The area, everything in it.. it all appeared to glow and shake with a cosmic tremor...

The sisters found themselves back at the manor. It seemed as if they had no memory of the previous events; the funeral, summoning the spirit, fighting Tommy at the college dorm.. it seemed like it never happened. Piper was with Leo, talking in the living room.

Paige was in the attic, reviewing some information in the book of Shadows. She wanted to see if The Source had any weaknesses. So far,  
there's been no such luck.

And Phoebe.. well, she was laying in her bed, reading a book. She recalled getting her car from Dave, the clerk at the auto shop. As she read silently to herself, she felt a hot flash in her temples.  
She shook her head, confused about the images in her mind. It felt just like a premonition. Except it was events of the past two days,  
all crammed into a few seconds. She opened her eyes, adjusting to what she had just felt. "Whoa.. now, that was something new." She wondered if it was another power, or an extended version of her current one.. or something else entirely. She had no idea what it was, really. She shook her head, closing her book and setting it on the table. She wondered if Cole would have any explanation about this.. 


	3. Times Change

The Source was standing in one of the caverns in Underworld, questioning one of his loyal agents. He was in a hooded black robe, his eyes were complete darkness. "Tempus. I got your message.. it seemed urgent."

The old demon was seated near the wall, holding his side. He was very ill, especially from the second occasion in which he had to reset time. All because those damn mortals above had exposed both sides, good and evil. But on the plus side, at least one of those Charmed wenches were killed. "Yes.. my liege.."

"Well?" The ruler of all demons was not known for his patience. "Speak! Why have you called me?"

Tempus gasped from the exertion. Even simple conversation was difficult if he prolonged it. "Time.. has been reset. I can feel it.. I know it. All is not the same. I sense that.. time.. history, albeit a small portion of it.. has been altered."

"That is not possible." The Source snorted. "In your condition, you would not exist if that were the case."

"It was not me." Tempus slowly shook his head. "I never said that it was me. This was.. another being. I do not know from which side.. I don't know who exactly did this, either. I only know that.. someone has found a way to change what has been. In so doing.. he may have changed events.. and people."

"Is there more?" The ruler wasn't sure if this fool knew anything else. His information wasn't helpful at all. All he knew was that time had changed, but couldn't discern the identity of the person responsible!

"No. No, my liege.. there is not. I know that it has happened above.. somewhere. That is all I know."

The Source paused, thinking this over. "Very well. I shall question the Seer about this. After I consult her, I will bring her to you for further inquiries.." Then he waved his arm, vanishing in a torrent of flame..

Meanwhile, the next morning, Piper was at the manor. She was currently in the kitchen, talking on the phone with Paige. "What.. oh, don't tell me that. You have to be kidding!"

Paige was at work, sitting at her desk. "I'm afraid so.. I just heard Tommy got out a couple weeks ago. Darryl says the guy was a real trouble-maker growing up, from the police record. And speaking from personal experience, trust me when I say that Tom is a complete jerk."

Piper snorted. "Don't remind me.. I had to bar him from my club twice before. He's just one of those punks who likes to start a fight in public. I told his parole officer that Thomas Miller is not welcome at P3."

Paige sighed. "Well.. I just thought I should let you know, just in case he comes around to cause trouble. I mean, it's bad enough that we have to fight demons every day."

"Thanks.. I appreciate it, Paige. Well, I guess I'll see you later. Bye." She hung up.

Phoebe walked into the kitchen, eating an apple. "Club problems?" She had overheard a few tidbit's of Piper's phone conversation.

"Ohh.. good morning, Phoebe." Piper nodded. "You can say that. Actually.. it might not be a problem, if the police can keep a certain bad boy away from my club. I can't have him threatening any more patrons who look at him funny. It's obvious that the guy has problems with his emotions.. good thing he isn't a witch."

"Ooh, sounds bad. Anyone I might know?" Phoebe remembered running with a few 'bad boys' when she attended high school. It was her rebellious stage, a time she hoped to forget. She wasn't that person anymore.

"Not personally, unless you happened to date juvenile delinquents." Piper said. "Tommy Miller. Some guy who's been in and out of juvenile centers since he was thirteen. You should see the rap sheet that Darryl has on him."

"Miller.. Miller.." Phoebe tried to think. "I remember a Kayleigh Miller, from when I went to college. She was dating this guy in the fraternity group.. Evan Tre-something. I wonder if they still go there." She had the strange sense that she had met them before, like what she had dreamed about. "I need to talk to you about something. Something important, about yesterday."

"Sure." Piper walked into the living room, motioning for Phoebe to sit in one of the chairs. "What is it?"

Phoebe sat down, then took a deep breath. "Okay.. I had this preminition last night. But it wasn't about saving any innocents or anything like that. It was events that tiook place since two nights ago, when I went to pick up my car. Then.. when I slept, I saw the same stuff, more normally. It's like.. well, complicaticated." She sighed. "I know what we did, I know what happened. But what I saw.. it's like another version of what happened."

Piper frowned, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. "Do you think it's another power? What do you mean.. what did you see in your dreams?" She had dreams last night as well, but they mostly involved her and Leo on a deserted island.

Phoebe paused. "I know that when we went to get my car, it was an old guy named Dave. I just paid him and left. No talks or anything. But in my dream, Tommy worked at the place."

"Tommy?" Now, Piper was really confused. "But.. but that's not possible. With his record, he hasn't had any recent jobs. There's no way he could have been there."

"I know that," Phoebe replied, nodding her head. "I know he wasn't there. I remember that he wasn't there. I also saw us the next morning, going to a funeral. Kayleigh's funeral.. but that can't be true either. I remember going to breakfast with Cole at the diner, you went to check on P3.. Paige was working late until the evening. I remember Kayleigh from college and there's no way she could be suicidal, not with everything going so good for her. And yet, my dream showed otherwise. Later that night, we summoned her ghost and went to stop Tommy from killing Evan." She shook her head. "Please tell me I'm not going crazy.. I'm not even sure if I can't trust my own memories."

"You're not crazy." Piper said, supporting her sister. She wasn't sure about this, either. "It might have been just a dream. I really don't know, Phoebe. When Leo comes back, maybe he can go check with the Elders, maybe see if they know what's going on."

"Yeah, that would be good." Phoebe smiled. "I've been wanting to ask Cole about this, too.. I wonder if he's heard of this before. Where is Leo, anyway?"

Piper answrered, "Oh, you know. He has to go talk to one of his charges. Apparently, it's one of the potential whitelighters. He won't say who it is. probably that strict rule about revealing confidential info about others. Even though we're his charges, too.. but I understand that there are others who need his help, not just us."

"Yeah.. is he doing the handyman gig?" Phoebe chuckled.

Piper laughed. "Yeah. He's doing that. In flannel, as usual."

Just then, Cole walked in from one of the other rooms. "Handyman? I'm good with my hands. Right, Phoebe?"

"Yes, Cole.." Phoebe blushed slightly. "So, umm.. did you just get here?"

"Yeah." Cole nodded, coming over to sit by Phoebe. "I just heard something weird down below. It seems like something in the world has changed, something about time.. anyway, the warlocks and demons are in opposition over which of them did it, each side is accusing the other. That's nothing new, though. They've always been at each other's throats over something."

"Did what? What do you mean, what's changed?" Phoebe asked. "What's going on in the Underworld, Cole?"

Cole shrugged. "I don't know the details, but something is definitely going on. All they know is that it happened in the mortal world."

Phoebe said, "Oh, okay. Well.. I need to tell you something. I had these wierd dreams last night about what happened with us and some other people. It's strange."

"How strange?" Cole asked. "Tell me about it.. what happened, what did you dream about?"

"Well, umm.." Phoebe sighed, shaking her head. "Ok, I'll give you the short version. I had this premonition about two days' events, then saw the same stuff in my dream. In the real world.. I picked up my car quickly, had breakfast with you in the morning, Piper and Paige were at work. The dream is very different. In my dream, this kid Tommy gave me my car. Kayleigh and her boyfriend are in a college fraternity, but my premonition showed us at the girl's funeral. We called her ghost, then went to stop Tommy from getting revenge.. that was in my dream. But in my real life.. well.. I know the dream could not have happened. But it felt so real. Very real."

Piper agreed, "Yeah, that's just what she told me a few minutes ago. I know that Tommy couldn't have been at the auto shop. Not with his criminal record. And I think I'd know if we all went to a funeral together. If we did, I certainly don't remember it. All I remember is being at the club, preparing for the new band that's scheduled to be there in a few weeks."

Cole said, "You're right.. that does sound strange." He paused for a minute. "But that does seem a bit familiar. I think it's possible that you might be experiencing a past life, since you did that once before.. no, wait. Nevermind. You said it was in the present day. It's possible that someone found a way to change an event. I mean, you and your sisters changed history before, right?"

"The future, actually." Piper commented. "Phoebe was executed in the future.. I had a daughter there, too. We did go to the past, back to Melinda Warren's time, when she was a baby.. but we had no control over going to that era."

"I remember that," Cole said. That was a bad memory for him. It was a time when he was planning to kill the Charmed Ones. "But from all the fuss I was hearing below, someone does have control over the times. It's small, though, so it's hard for them to track exactly who is responsible for it. Nothing big like Kennedy's assassination or trying to un-invent medicine. It's something very small.. I think it could be a personal thing."

Phoebe smiled slightly. "See, I knew I wasn't going crazy! I mean.. I considered it. I was starting to wonder if I was losing my mind."

Cole put his arm around Phoebe's shoulder, consoling her. "Don't worry, Pheebs. If you start floating or seeing pink elephants, I'll be the first to question your state of mind. Ohh.. wait a minute, I forgot. You can float."

Phoebe laughed. "Thanks, Cole.. that really means a lot to me." She smiled. "Hey, I just thought of something. I might be able to prove that the dream wasn't real. Cole, would you like to go back to the college with me? I'd like to check up on a couple friends."

Cole stood up, then reached for Phoebe's hand, helping her up as well. "Of course. Maybe we can grab a bite to eat afterwards."

"Great." Phoebe started for the front doors. She had a little hunch that Kayleigh wasn't dead. If it turned out that she was alive, and that she and Evan were now married.. well, maybe that would prove that it really was just a dream.. 


End file.
